Lee, I had a tri performance LB with G-5 side fins (FCS). It was the first EPS that I had done for myself in many a year, it was from a molded blank and gave very little room to hand shape. I had taken a inch off the bottom as it was way too thick, but with a pre molded contour I had moved it all up into the crown of the deck rail.
When I first rode it, it was soooooooo sticky, it went into the bottom and just plain stuck into the trough, then while trying to turn, would go into a kick out with out being able to change direction.
Greg Loehr stopped by to see me and I brought out my board and told him of my problem, I thought I had not enough rail (they were super thin), he took one look and said " your side fins are too big" (the same fins that are on your board ) I always used a much smaller side fin, made myself a new pair, much smaller and the board rode like my best friend until it commited suicide at Sunset Beach
Lee, I might have to pull backon this. I can’t remember why I have this nuggest fixed in my brain. I might remember when I go and page through my boards.
I remember now that I replaced a set of glass FCS AMs with the plastic equivalents (which are sloppier and a touch smaller) in a board that I kept buring the nose of in turns. This seemed to free up the nose of the board and limit the problem. This might just be the same phenomenon being described above in using smaller sidebites to loosen up the tail.
The larger area, and toe-in of the side fins, are NOT allowing the tail to ‘‘sink’’ in a turn, and thus elevate the nose. Remove, or greatly reduce the sides, and life will change. There is also a counter intuitive possiblity. Move the fin all the way back, forcing you to step farther back to initiate a turn, which will elevate the nose, reducing or eliminating the nose digging in. Start trying things, and observe the results. See if anything changes for the better.
Changing your fin setup will be the best way to blend your surfing style to the performance of the board. Like Bill said keep changing the mix till you find your preference.
Another thing I believe when tuning a board is to ride it without a legrope.
This makes you slow it down a little and surf more smoothly allowing you to concentrate on what the board is doing and how it feels through your turns without over amping ,the biggest reason most surfers bog turns on new boards.
9am I get a wake up call from my uncle asking me to check with my friends if anyboby
knows of breaking waves at the beach ( open beach breaks) . BTW, he lives right infront of the best spot in Israel which is a reef point break that start working only when the surf is high…
so… continue with the story…
nobody answers the phone so I opened the internet to check the cameras at the beach… only one surfer with
0 waves… so I call my uncle back and tell him that there isn’t any sign for waves… not even ripples.
AND THEN HE SAYS -
LEE take a shortboard and come immidiatly… it works! It works!!
10 min’s took me to jump up from my bed take my 6’2 dsd Luciano and ofcource the Mctavish and get to his house.
were standing at his porch, holding our heads… It’s fu%$ing Indo !! I say… let’s go!!
chest high ,perfect transparent clear blue waves , sun, slight offshore wind… NO surfers!!!
only one guy which olso lives on the beach surfing a G&S nose rider.
definatly one of the best sessions I had in my life.
I took out the side bites and left only the single fin at the position Thraikill sujested… WOW … what a board… What a wave…
As is often the case, a fun session in good waves can change everything.
Just for kicks, slide a 5" trailer fin in the longbox. Try it back, centered and forward… in decent waves. You might like it even better. Then again, it might suck worse. Never hurts to try!
Still curious if the centre fin is the standard fin?
I have a 9’2" with very similar measurements to your McT and use a 6.5" fin in the centre box with sidebites (lots of rake in the sidebites) which I’m very happy with.
Instead of the current fin but placed at the back of the box for starters. If you can find one with a cutaway base and screw tab in front, even better. You’ll likely find it works best at the back of the box… like a standard thruster position.
Robin Mair has a design he calls a “Thumb” fin that he offers in sizes from 4" to 10" in 1/2" increments. His name on Swaylocks is “Handshaper.” He can probably hook you up with something in that size range… I said 5" but 6" would be something different from what you have. Either one might be fun to play around with.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear… the small center fin would be with side bites.
On the fin, think Squirrel, FCS “Fatboy”, or something along those lines but no need to copy anyone. Basically a smooth arc cutaway to the trailing edge with a fat tip.
